The Stars of Obitus

The stars of Obitus, which take the shape in the night sky of his holy symbol, are now often called the poor mans temple. Most prayers directed towards the god of death are now spoken either in a graveyard, or when looking up at his stars.
The constellation is visible from early fall until just before winter ends, moving on to become visible in in the other hemisphere as the seasons change. The stars are considered to be lucky by some and just a way to help navigate by others. The god of death (Obitus) is know to not be a malicious god and all works on the god of death depict him as one of the gods who is truly neutral rather than having an evil side or a good one. He bares no malice nor benevolence, death simply is. How great or terrible it is when it arrives for you, depends on you.

History

The legend goes that at one time not long after the faith wars, a king who had a son that was beloved not only by himself and the people but by the people of the near by lands and their royal families as well. He died in some sort of accident and his family naturally went to Obitus' temple to ask the clerics of death to bring him back to life. Outside of the temple the people gathered in mass many crying out offers to help pay any price set by death for the return of the prince. Obitus' law on death is simple by the concepts of his followers. Unless your life affects many beyond those immediately around you and unless there is something the gods need you to carry out that no other can fill in for... the answer is always no. There have been very few resurrections in the history of our world and they have always turned out to be key in solving a dilemma that threatened countries or continents. The answer given to the king was no.
The people as well as the king were angry, the royal families that were allied with the king were angry. They made war on the temple of death, stating that when their god was ready to give back the prince, they would stop killing his followers. Armies marched to sack the temples of death, a strange spirit gripped the warriors, the idea that they could bend a god to their will by taking things from the god... It was an idea that many favored. Why should they answer to the whims of these far away deities who only grant some favors and not all those asked but insist on being venerated?
Not long after the armies began marching they found many of the temples empty with no clerics within. Everything was still there all of the 'treasures' of the temple that made marching an army easier. So they pressed on sacking the holy relics of Obitus as they went. A few temples were found to have some of Obitus' champions still waiting within. The warriors pledged int eh service of death were fierce and usually killed many but no handful of warriors can stand against an army. The warriors all died apparently pleased when the killing blow finally fell upon them.
The last temple within easy reach of the king and his allies lay in Tel'neva and the armies marched toward it with expectation of forcing death itself to give way. When they arrived they found the temple occupied by three clerics and as the army approached one of them came down the steps to stand before the mass.
The king himself rode forward expecting to at last hear that his son would be returned. Unfortunately the priestess told him that Obitus still said no and that threatening clerics of death with seeing their god sooner was a silly threat. However in case mortal people ever again did need a champion who couldn't be replaced, this temple would be the last Obitus would deign to give them in all the world. Also Obitus needed his last clerics for his last temple. So the king and all his army had best leave or Obitus would grant them all a miracle.
Determined that he could not be denied the king ordered the army forward. Those who hesitated or had decided to not follow orders out of fear, respect, or in one admitted case laziness were spared the god of death's miracle. The rest simply died. There was no great sound no flash of light, or any sign of power being used that one normally equates with magic being used. They were just suddenly dead. The bodies aged before the clerics and the less than forty survivors to bones in rent and rusted armor in seconds. The cleric announced to those remaining that they had been spared because they had not meant to march. The bones or at least pieces of them still are scattered about on the field before death's last temple.

The Stars of Obitus Overlaid with His Symbol

by Evan Blancett

Alternative Name(s)

Death Stars, Night temple, beggars church.